Friday, January 26, 2007

Friday 01/26 A.M. Quickie:Gilbert Arenas' Version of "The Surge"

It's pretty rare to have any intrigue in All-Star voting. (Rory Fitzpatrick was an exception, but that was a gimmick.)

That's what makes Gilbert Arenas' selection as a starter for the East in the NBA All-Star Game – surging ahead of Vince Carter at the last moment – so amazing.

Arenas' final surge was nothing short of jaw-dropping spectacular: Arenas was more than 200,000 votes behind as recently as TWO WEEKS AGO. He finished 3,000 votes ahead. I've never heard of that kind of swing in the NBA – and maybe All-Star voting in any sport. (Maybe MLB?)

Next, it is the official coronation that Agent Zero* has arrived as a top-tier NBA star. It's been unofficial all season: First came the love from the bloggers. Next came the various crazy don't-call-them-quirks that humanized Gil in a way that no other NBA star was. Then came the scoring binges. Then the surprising success of his first signature shoe. And, now, the validation of the masses: A starting spot in the All-Star Game. (And not just any All-Star Game, but the greatest All-Star Game in the history of sports, if only because it's in Las Vegas.)

Meanwhile, there's a second angle that makes this even better: He displaced Vince Carter, who long had a lock on the All-Star starting spot, simply off of one dunk contest a long time ago. Since then, he has steadily lost cred among fans, but maintained a mysterious populist grip on that All-Star starting spot. But even VC couldn't stop the ultimate populist NBA hero: Agent Zero.

Oh, and as Gil himself pointed out: Thanks to the Sixers for trading the leading vote-getter among guards in the East, Allen Iverson. That moved everyone else up a spot and allowed Arenas the chance to pass Carter.

(Want merely the latest reason that fans love Arenas? On his NBA.com blog, he was referencing the mission he's on to score a ton on the USA Basketball coaches who snubbed him last summer. Mike D'Antoni joked earlier this week that he'd hate to see what Arenas would do against Coach K and Duke. And so Arenas said on his blog he'd score "84 or 85" against Duke. I would pay a minimum of $1,000 to watch that on pay-per-view. We're quickly getting to the point where there has never been a player in NBA history as uniquely entertaining – combining on-court and off-court performance – as Arenas.)

More NBA All-Star: Nice to see Chris Bosh join Arenas with the regulars Shaq, LeBron and Wade in the East starting lineup. The West is the same-old-same-old: Yao, KG, Duncan, Kobe, T-Mac. The only drama was whether AI would displace T-Mac. He didn't. That's a shame. (Who should replace Yao as the starting center in the West? My vote: Amare.)

Aussie Open: You're either a Serena man or a Maria man. (But I absolutely don't want to shut out the women readers: You're either a Serena woman or a Maria woman.) And I'd like to know which.

College Hoops: Duke edges Clemson...barely. It took a layup at the buzzer, but the bigger story was the way that Duke blew a 5-point lead with 13 seconds to go, necessitating the need for the buzzer-beating bail-out. (Oh, wait: Go figure -- Duke basically cheated their way to the W, using a friendly clock-operator to steal the win. Via Deadspin and Fanhouse.)

NBA Last Night: Hey, look: The Clippers are back at .500 after Cat Mobley's 3 beat the buzzer to beat the Nets.

NFL: The Garrett-Watch. I am not sure why, but I'm fascinated by the Cowboys-Garrett situation. At the very least, he's the offensive coordinator, but I think it's fairly obvious Jerry Jones wants to elevate him to head coach as soon as possible. What kind of head coach would sign with his successor literally standing next to him?

MLB: The Red Sox will finally sign JD Drew. His place next season on the DL is inevitable.

Salisbury Scandal: Let's Wrap It Up. With the week ending, the Salisbury stake-out is almost over. When USA Today's crack sports media team finally gets to a story, you know that story has long since lost its sizzle

But not before USA Today's Sports Media Apologist Michael Hiestand can weigh in by ripping bloggers while offering Sean a virtually unfiltered platform to protest, which he continues to do (and, by the way, Sean has the absolute right to do).

Let me focus on Hiestand's coverage: Wouldn't balanced journalism – even for a columnist – maintain that it would be worth finding someone with the other point of view to weigh in? I'm just asking.

Because everyone who has listened to the tape agrees Sean said "Jew" (and certainly didn't say "chew"), and that all Sean had to do is plausibly admit that it was a verbal flub with no intent to harm.

Then again, Hiestand has ESPN talent on his speed-dial, but I've never seen him quote a blogger. No, that would offer a wee too much legitimacy for a medium that must scare the hell out of him.

After all, the best, most timely, most insightful sports media criticism is coming from bloggers, not from newspapers.

114 comments:

Dan...your blog is great and I enjoy reading it, but I have to say 1 thing about All-Star voting.

Yes, I agree the fans should be able to choose the all-stars, but I also think the coaches and other players should have a saying in the starters also (ala NFL). This year is just another example on why the all-star voting can be a joke. Shaq has played FIVE games. I love the guy, but come on! I know the east has a lack of centers, but this is embarrassing. It reminds me of those years that Grant Hill didn't play a single game and yet he was still voted as a starter. In baseball it's the same way...remember that year that Nomar was hurt and was the leading vote getter? Or when Mike Schmidt RETIRED and was still voted the starter? I think there needs to be standards set for all-star's, ie: minimum 35 games played, minimum 20ppg (or if you excel in defense/rebounding like Ben Wallace), etc. Just a thought.

Vince Carter is a phony and a hack, and I'm glad he's not on the starting team. We're finally getting to a point in the NBA where flashy dunks and selfish play aren't unfairly rewarded. That said, personality counts for a lot (obviously) ... but I never thought Vince ever really had any.

You respect Arenas for what he said about Duke? What a douche... Duke is A COLLEGE TEAM! Who gives a shit what you can do against them. How insecure can you get, that you're bragging about running it up against a college team? As a Cavs/Duke fan, I'm glad to say my teams have owned Arenas when it matters (playoffs, 2001 NCAA finals).

NBA All-Star game is a joke, don't waste time even talking about it. For fan's its nothing but a popularity contest, regardless of what sport it is.

Arenas calling out a college team because he wants revenge on the coach for cutting him? Absolutely weak. I'm gald he's off the USA team because listening to him talk its pretty clear he's not a team player, and that's what USA basketball needs. I hope some of the Trailblazer pull out some old Pistons tapes and smack Arenas' ass around the first time he drives in the lane on them. Here's to him blowing out his knee...jackass.

First things first, Maria. Serena looks like she could probably body slam me, which is no small feat.

Now, about the All-Star balloting. It's funny to look at the contrast between the NBA and NFL All-Star games. In the NBA, many players feel slighted when they are "snubbed", and try to use it as motivation. In the NFL, most pf the top tier talents skip the game, but still collect their Pro Bowl Bonuses.

Personally, I think most All-Star games are ridiculous. The NHL game is a non-contact game? What the hell is that? The NBA game usually ends up 165-163, with most players using it as a personal slam dunk competetion. The Pro Bowl is a complete joke - 2/3 of the players haven't been in a game in a month, but now they're expected to play their hardest (and risk injury) while other players simply show up and enjoy the Hawaii weather from the sidelines...

At least MLB attached something of significance to their game, stupid as it may be. I can't even get worked up over the whole "Shaq only played 5 games but he's an All-Star Starter" argument. It's almost expected at this point.

Ha. Who are you people? It's Friday, by Monday try to find a sense of humor. Everybody is all upset about All-Star voting (who cares? It's and exhibition game for fun and to market the league) and Gilbert saying it he would score 85? That's funny! The guy is a little crazy (plays on-line poker at half time and yells hibachi). Can't you just enjoy it and laugh a little?

But no, (gruff) sports is serious stuff.

GO MARIA! Maybe this will help take the edge off all you serious fans this morning.

And seriously, no one gives a shit about Sean Salisbury saying "Jew" or "Chew." The only people that talk about it are the Salisbury-haters.

No one cares that TO went on the radio and semi-ripped Parcells. The only people that talk about it are the TO-haters.

The blogs are getting as bad as the MSM, in my opinion - everyone's looking for the next story to break, and they'll hype it up to ridiculous levels. Can't we just go back to the usual boring nonstop bashing of John Madden and Chris Berman (i.e., the #2 and #3 most influential people in NFL broadcasting, all-time)?

Love Arenas. Hate Carter, hasn't deserved the All-Star vote in years. Arenas is a great player, and most importantly, fun to watch. I agree that the NBA is on its way back; all it's missing is a great rivalry. (Basketball is the perfect sport for rivalries. Peyton and Brady? Never on the field at the same time. Bird and Magic, now THAT was a rivalry.)

Arenas is fun and it'll be good to see him in the ASG, certainly more fun than watching Vince Carter. I don't know if he's the most uniquely entertaining guy in the history of the game or anything, but I guess that's just the instant history shtick talking?

And as far as ASG voting in general goes, I'm with Simmons...who the hell cares? Let the fans pick who they want to see play and don't bother getting wrapped up in who's "deserving" of the "honor." Except *maybe* in baseball, where there was once a competitive tradition, I think that's what ASGs are for anyway.

I'm a Serena woman. If Dan can shamelessly root for Jewish basketball players, I feel fine rooting for black female tennis players. ;) I like Maria a lot though, should be quite a match.

On Salisbury, ITA with Dan. Just say it was a slip of the toungue and be done with it instead of classically protesting too much. This story would have been dead within five minutes if he and ESPN had just done that. I'm in the camp that think that "Jew" was part of the "nickel and dime" reference, but also think if he'd just handled it right, no one would have cared and we all never even would have heard about it. Whatever. If he can get away with other, much worse offenses (and works for the same corporation that isn't worrying about Isiah Washington) then it's truly a non-issue.

Dan, please give up on the whole Salisbury thing, no one really cares about it. It's quite apparent that no one cares when no one is commenting on it (I realize I'm commenting on it so I'm defeating my own purpose). It wasn't that big of a deal, it'll all be forgotten by next week so why are you still trying to talk about it?

Why should bloggers be given any credit for Arenas and the Salisbury thing.

I think everyone, including "mainstream" media, would agree that Arenas was one of the top stars entering the league this season, certainly subplanting Carter and Iverson. I think as the year has gone on, he is ahead of Wade and tied with James for star power in the East.

As for Salisbury, is he going to get fired? I would argue that if it was True what Reynolds did, then Salisbury should join him and be fired. ESPN seems to clamp down on some things but not others.

I have a sense of humor, i just didn't find Arenas funny at all. He's bragging that he could beat a college team... congrats buddy. I could be the Babe Ruth of little league, but that doesn't count for shit. It's a stupid, arrogant comment. If it was funny or witty I could appreciate it, but he just runs his mouth without any thought.

Gilbert Arenas is great for the game. Don't take his rants seriously, because he doesn't. I think it is hilarious that he responded to the joke about Duke with his own take on the matter. Besides, do you think he wouldn't score 85 if he took every shot and used his team-mates like bumper pool to pass to, set screens, and get the ball back and such?

On the all-star game, if fans can vote for a no-talent ass clown like Rory to start and expect that to be considered fascinating, then fans can vote for Shaq to start because they want to see him in a line-up with Lebron and Agent 0 and D-Wade.

On media, bloggers will never overcome main stream meadia for a couple reasons. First and foremost is access. How many bloggers get to interview Peyton Manning and Rex Grossman in the next 2 weeks? The bloggers do a great job of providing spin/ analysis on stories we learned about through MSM. Dan -- were you at the BCS Championship Game or the Final 4, or do you talk about them from your tv clips and report what other MSM people say? The second reason bloggers will never beat MSM is time. Most bloggers also have other careers. That will keep them from having the time to dedicate to 24/7 sports, including the travel requirements to see things live and meet with the people who are the stories.

One interesting thing in DC (other than Arenas) is that the Caps are providing press-passes to sports bloggers. This is one way to overcome the access issue, but I don't see it happening on any grand scale any time soon. How many bloggers would apply for press credentials to the Final 4 if they could? The place would be packed with just bloggers....

Finally -- I think the run Gonzales has made to get to the finals in Australia is very impressive. He beat Australian Native and hometown favorite Hewitt, then the US favorite Blake, then #2 player in the world Nadal. His run is spectacular. Good for him and I look forward to seeing him play (i.e., lose to) Roger.

But I think Serena beats Maria. Serena is playing great tennis with a chip in her shoulder. But we'll see.

All Star games and All Star voting stories kind of suck. No one really cares unless someone from your own team is the one snubbed or makes a last minute surge. So yeah, Arenas beat out VC... but also Shaq made the team and hasn't even really played this year. So the whole process is kind of dumb and not really worth getting worked up about.

The NBA All-Star game rocks the house, I don't care what anybody says. It's basically a pick-up game. Who doesn't want to watch a pick-up game of their favorite players? It isn't the highest level of basketball, but it's still entertaining (and that's the whole point, right?) Who cares if some players are "snubbed" and others get in on "rep." I'd rather watch Shaq than Zad Ilg any day. He's better and I don't need to see 20 games to know that.

Other sports are different. Football shouldn't even have a game - they should just have a ridiculous skills competition (Madden pre-season drills) with huge monetary incentives which draw all players and make the event a "pride" thing (as a result). I don't know what to do about baseball. It's baseball. The home run derby is the biggest attraction now. I mean, the game meant something before interleague play and free agency. Now it isn't a big deal to see Randy Johnson v. Man Ram, because he can play him in the regular season or switch leagues in the offseason.

What is this "Aussie Open" and who are "Maria" and "Serena?" Sounds like a soft core porn movie title.

The Cowboys have the best collection of talent (outside of the quarterback position, but he could improve) of any team in the league. It would be a shame if they never realized their potential because they don't have the right coaches. That said, I hate the Cowboys. Go Pack!

HOW DOES STEVE NASH NOT GET ENOUGH VOTES TO START??? T-MAC IS A BUM!!! HE IS ABOUT HALF THE PLAYER HE WAS IN ORLANDO AND TORONTO AND I AM REALLY NOT SURE HOW HE IS ALWAYS VOTED A STARTER OVER THE TWO TIME MVP AND MOST EXCITING PLAYER TO WATCH OUTSIDE OF KOBE AND WADE. IS IT B/C HE IS WHITE AND CAN'T DUNK. NOT MANY OTHER REASONS I CAN THINK OF.

HOPE MARIA WINS B/C I HATE THE WILLIAMS SISTERS. MARIA HAS THE GUTS AND GUILE TO DOMINATE HER SPORT LIKE TIGER/FEDERER DO.

I ALSO THINK ITS AWESOME BOSH GOT VOTED IN AS A STARTER. HE IS A GREAT PLAYER AND DESERVES IT. YOU PUT HIM ON A TEAM WITH 1 TALENTED GUY AND THEY WOULD BE A FUN TEAM TO WATCH EXCEPT THAT NO ONE CARES ABOUT BBALL IN CANADA.

Dan- about SS and the comments- ok we all understand about the verbal flub by now but what about the story that he took pics of his junk and sent them around to the female staffers at the WWL? Where is that story in the mainstream media?????

Any "which team has the most talent" discussion has to include the Chargers. Outside of the QB and WR positions, I don't see the Colts having better skill anywhere on the field - much less the freakin' Cowboys...

Barkley was/is HUUUUUGELY entertaining. Come on! Best all-time, any and every sport, worldwide. I'm sure Babe Ruth would have surpassed him if there was television, but that's why you can't compare eras.

I'm giving Arenas a pass on the silly "vengeance" talk because MJ took it so seriously for years, and somehow everyone took him seriously.

You shouldn't take All-Star games seriously, either. They're not one-year Hall of Fame inductions. So what if Shaq played only 5 games? Shaq is the reason a lot of people payed hundreds for tickets.

Favorite All-Star moment, any sport: Randy Johnson staring down John Kruk, and Kruk nearly running out of the batter's box with every 100 mile per hour fastball. That was awesome, and 9 times more memorable than any part of any of their games.

@jeteris#1"HOW DOES STEVE NASH NOT GET ENOUGH VOTES TO START??? T-MAC IS A BUM!!! HE IS ABOUT HALF THE PLAYER HE WAS IN ORLANDO AND TORONTO AND I AM REALLY NOT SURE HOW HE IS ALWAYS VOTED A STARTER OVER THE TWO TIME MVP AND MOST EXCITING PLAYER TO WATCH OUTSIDE OF KOBE AND WADE."

First, stop posting in all caps.

Second, T-Mac gets a lot of residual votes from the enormous Asian population that votes in Yao Ming. We should consider ourselves lucky that the entire Rockets starting lineup will not be starting the All-Star game.

Finally, it is a traveshamockery that Nash will not be starting in the All-Star game, or any other Suns player for that matter.

continuing my rant from above about bloggers....(note: I like bloggers, probably more so than most mainstream media stiffs)

The recent high horse bloggers have put themselves on is comparable to EMO kids...."we wrote about the stories before the mainstream media caught on" read: "we listened to this music before it went mainstream"....congrats, you both have to much time on your hands.

And seriously I like bloggers, you do a valuable service, isn't that enough??? Or will you not be happy until you don't have to peddle votes for your "awards" or people come to your Blogs prior to visiting ESPN.com....

Possibly, this has been a little over dramatic, but serioulsy, Arenas is an all-star because he is leading the league in scoring, not becuase bloggers "wrote about him first".

"What is this "Aussie Open" and who are "Maria" and "Serena?" Sounds like a soft core porn movie title."

If you watch the match it WILL sound like soft core porn with all the grunting and moaning.

I've never liked the Williams sisters, but I also never liked Agassi until he dumped Brooke, cut off the embarrasingly thinning long hair and won the US Open as an unseeded player. Serena coming back from injury(or not caring?) and winning as an unseeded player would be an accomplishment...but I'm still rooting for Maria

On Arenas: I hate the NBA...hate isn't strong enough, loathe is better. I loathe the NBA, yet find Arenas intriguing. Plus, I've always liked when an athlete feels slighted and takes out revenge. He could just as easily shrugged his shoulders, collected his millions and enjoy his summers off. Even bigger plus...anyone that makes Coach K look like a moron is ok with me.

mwp... of course I wouldn't want more Bengals running around. But if someone with the initials of TO said he wanted to go back to college to score 6 TDs against xxxx then everyone would be blasting him.

How is this any different?

He can start talking and calling out teams when he can make a free throw in a clutch situation in the playoffs.

Well, I 've got two things to comment on, both NASCAR related, and since I was in meetings for 13 hours yesterday, never got to chime in.

Toyota coming to NASCAR is absolutely nothing like the Yank's just showing up in baseball. They will have to have pretty much the same chassis and body design as the American cars. Their engines will likely blow frequently in the first year, as it isn't like the formula 1 cars, where they may have some experience. It takes time to learn how to build a NASCAR engine. Just ask the guys who have been doing it for 20 years.

The thing is Hendricks might actually build the engines that will be in the Toyota cars, as he builds a LOT of the engines in NASCAR, which means Toyotas will be running American engines till they get their know-how. So, unless they get a very good driver, and a lot of luck, they aren't going to be that dominant. Pit crews are extremely important, and working together for a long while is crucial to fast pit stops. That is another area where Toyota's team will struggle early.

The other HUGE NASCAR story you haven't touched on that I've seen is Dale Jr. possibly leaving DEI's team due to his fued with his step-mom. That would be the biggest story of the NASCAR year by FAR, well above Toyota, if that were to happen.

In a twist I've heard from some NASCAR circles, including the WWL(ugh, NASCAR Now? sheesh), is that as Toyota will have a HUGE budget for this, they may make a play for Junior to be their driver, which would then be one of the biggest stories in NASCAR history.

I'd like to see Serena win, i think. I think its going to be a great match, either way.

And it is going to be so loud! It may be a "watch it on mute" kind of sporting event for me. Maria drives me crazy with the grunting. And its not like i'm going to be missing any hard hitting commentary...

In NBA news... i really wish i could get more into the NBA, but i believe that ship has sailed for me.

For anyone who didn't see it, Clemson was down 5 with 13 secs left. They went for the quick 2. They were down 3 with 5 secs left. Duke threw away the inbounds pass and Clemson drained a 3. Tie game. After the play, the clock said 1.8 secs. They looked it over. When the ball went through the net it said 4.4 secs. That's what they put on the clock. Duke put up the winning layup after going full court with .1 secs to win.

The refs, strangely enough, did the right thing. Their job is to see when the ball went through and put that much time on the clock. Clearly the play didn't take .6 secs though. That was the clock guy's fault. It really took 2.6 secs and the clock should've been 2.4 not 4.4 secs. Unfortunetly if the clock does not start ontime, the ref has no obligation or authority to take time off. This happend last year in a Wiz-Bobcats game where the Bobcats made a buzzerbeater on a less than 1 sec inbound where the shot was off before the red light, but the clock didn't start on-time.

On another note....

If you didn't know the whole story, Gilbert's Duke comment was a joke response to a joke by Mike D'Antoni after he had been asked about Gilbert scoring 54 on his team and saying he was going to get the Blazers.

This Salisbury issue is the biggest non-story of the week. Anyone that listened to the whole audio segment can hear that A) he was rushing to get his thoughts out, and B) the word 'jew' makes no sense in the context of what he was saying there. I don't know who he was talking to in that segment, I only listened to the audio clip, but the other person on the recording seemed to continuously try to break in while Salisbury was speaking. I think Sean kicked his mouth into overdrive to try and get his thoughts out and got a little tongue tied right at the end. The bigger issue with this in my mind is how overblown shit like this gets. I know how the word Jew gets used as a slur in conversation, and in this instance it doesn't fit in.. AT ALL. Maybe he said the word, I personally am still not 100% convinced, but it is pretty apparent to me that it was a case of him mispeaking or being misunderstood. If you want to talk about things that should be the target of people's ire, how about the fraternity that threw an MLK day party in Texas where everyone dressed up portraying racial stereotypes and drinking malt liquor and eating fried chicken, then had the gall to post pictures of it on the internet. That's despicable, this 30 second audio clip of Sean Salisbury is not, and it is ridiculous to see how many people here and elsewhere are jumping on the bandwagon basically calling for his head.

I agree completely. How Salisbury's phrase can be conflated into anything resembling the Michael Richards/Isiah Washington/Mel Gibson tirades is absurd. The word "Jew" is just randomly (and obviously accidentally) thrown into a sentence WITH NO DERROGATORY CONTEXT at all! I mean, seriously, how does this even get one post?

Look, I'm a big believer in calling out people for making ignorant generalizations about race/ethnicity/sexual preference or using slurs, but this Salisbury thing is where the politically correct crowd start looking ridiculous. Dan, use your blog to go after real racial/ethnic discrimination (like those kids in Texas and their offensive MLK Day party, or the NCAA's horrible record in educating and graduating the African-American athletes that are making them billions) instead of a made-up story like this Salisbury one.

My only consolation is that no matter how bad that call was, the game was not stolen from us.

We didn't make the plays, they did. It's really that simple. Who knows weather or not Indy scores after that if it's not called. What we do know is Caldwell dropped balls which directly resulted in lost points. Also we couldn't make a 3rd and what 3 or 4 to seal the game. Indy did what good teams do, and what the Pats usualy do. They took advantage of the other teams mistakes.

Let this be a wake up call for the young kids on the team and a reminder for the veterans and move forward.

I refuse to be depressed for the Super Bowl because my teams not there. It should be a great game. Great D vs Great O.

Apparently, he (don't ask) went on a cable access show in Chicago in the middle of the season called "Psychobabble" hosted by a guy who I think is Asian-American, and goes by "Chong" on his show (eventhough that isn't his real name).

the dialogue went something like this...Chong: If you guys go to the Super Bowl, I'd sell my Harley to go.Harris: You don't need to sell it, I would give you tickets.Chong: You're serious? I have you on tape here!Harris: (looks straight into camera) If we go to the Super Bowl, he's going.

Apparently, the guy came to the stadium to get his tickets and nobody would talk to him. Now, Harris' agent says that it is ridiculous for the guy to think Harris would keep that promise when he has 40 family members asking for tickets but currently only has 15 tickets.

I say he has to give the dude the tickets, or better yet the cash that tickets would be worth so the guy can buy his own ticket and he doesn't have to sit with 14 people from Chris Harris' family who want to kill him for taking up the seat.

I'm not just picking on you here, I'm really asking a legitimate question.

Do you ever bring anything to the table other than mean spirited comments directed at the opinion and interests of others?

I realize this is an opinion collum and you are entitled to yours just like everyone else. Do you really have to come off like such a jerk towards everyone?Like my grandmother used to say "Honey attracts more flies than Shit"

A slight change in attitude might result in people actually listening to your opinions.

I freely admit that, given the opportunity (both finacially and professionally) I'd leave this God-forsaken, frozen solid, democrat loving state and bolt for the West Coast (Or Vegas... close enough).

As for the "whining" by the Pats' fan... Hey, I've waited six days to make any comment at all about that game (in fairness, I was catatonic for the first five). But since the refs just confirmed what I was screaming in the Sportsbook in Vegas on Sunday - that Face Guarding is no longer a penalty in the NFL - I thought I'd share.

I was fully prepared to log on to my blog later tonight and write up a nice little puff piece about being over the Colts, being able to actually be happy that Peyton is getting a shot at a ring, and all that. But to have the NFL tell me now that they blew a call that directly led to the Colts getting four more points than they probably should have (TD rather than the 40ish-yard field goal... hmmm - didn't they win by four?), it stings a little.

I wish the NFL just kept their "mistakes" to themselves - unless they're going to replay the game from that exact point on, it does no good to tell the fans that there was a bad call - can't change it now, just move on.

"I freely admit that, given the opportunity (both finacially and professionally) I'd leave this God-forsaken, frozen solid, democrat loving state and bolt for the West Coast (Or Vegas... close enough)."

As for the "Pats couldn't stop the Colts by then," well, maybe they couldn't. But the Colts couldn't stop the Pats, either.

Keep in mind, the Colts' final score was with 1:00 left on the clock. If that "penalty" never happens, Indy burns 40 seconds just getting to the line for the next play, not to mention close to another 40 if they attempt a field goal.

If they convert a first down, and are still held to a field goal, even more time is wasted.

And finally, if they eventually do score the touchdown, there's probably three to five fewer minutes on the clock.

The play (2nd and 7) began with 4:12 in the third quarter at the NE 19. On the very next play, from the 1 yard line, Manning hit Klecko on the tackle eligible for the touchdown, followed by the ridiculous 2pt conversion.

Less than 3 minutes later, the Patriots hasd already scored again, putting the score back to 28-21. Just imagine if it's 28-21 with 10 minutes to go in the 4th instead of 1:30 left in the third.

Just changes the whole dynamic of the game. I'm just sayin', is all...

Didn't see UFC last night, but it is a great sport. My friends here have great parties for the big fights on ppv.

Schilling in '08? Won't he still be pitching then? Guess he'll have to retire after this season. I like it!

If the PI is not called in the end zone, it does change the tone of the game. Maybe the Colts still score a TD. Maybe they get a FG. Either way, they probably burn more time in the process, unless they score on the very next play.

But, with 4:30 +/- left in the game, the Colts had a 3 and out and punted back to the Patriots. If there is 2:00 left at that point, they would have gone for it on 4th down. Maybe being in 4 down territory then, they pick it up and keep driving.

Maybe Peyton's head explodes at the end of the quarter. Who knows what would have happened next.

Bottom line is that the Patriots had the ball with 3:30 to play to hold the lead and got a STUPID penalty (without that, it's 1st and 10 instead of 3rd and 4) and then couldn't convert the 1st down. Then, with 2:00 to play, they couldn't stop the Colts O from going 80 yards.

Theo Epstein - but only if they paid him enough and gave him "full control" - i.e. No State Senate or Judicial commitees to "override" his decision to trade the Elementary School Breakfast program for two crime bills to be named later.

Big D - No Matter how popular Schilling thinks he is, he would have absolutely no chance against Kerry in '08. The article in the Herald is such fraud it is not funny. The fact that he got 92% of the VOTE on an WRKO Poll does not mean it is real. Let us remember who the listeners of WRKO tend to be, All Repuglicans that is it which is a major minority in this state.

@Big D, the call was wrong, but I don't think it is the reason we lost the game. I've read your and everyone else's points. I hear what you're saying about if they had held Indy to a FG in that situation they wouldn't have gotten the four extra points that proved to be the margin of victory. But on the flip side, if Reche holds on to that ball when he was uncovered, the Pats likely get a TD there instead of field goal. There's your 4 points. In another instance, if the refs had called the mugging of Reche in the end zone, the pats would have likely scored a TD instead of a FG. There's your 4 points again. So those points could have been made up at least once, if not twice. But the most important fact, as previously stated is that when the Pat's got the ball with 3 minutes and change, they took a dumb penalty, then couldn't convert a 3rd and 4. They convert that play, the game is likely over. They also mismanaged the timeouts at the end. I understand trying to save them for when you were closer to the end zone, but after 3 straight completions, you needed to regroup. Call th TO and get a better play together instead of rushing to the line and throwing the pick. So my long winded point is, that one call against the Pats, right or wrong, did not solely cost them the game.

A driver is stuck in a traffic jam on US 95 south, just outside of Washington, DC.

Nothing is moving north or south.

Suddenly a man knocks on his window.

The driver rolls down his window and asks, "What happened?"What's the holdup?"

The man answers, "Terrorists have kidnapped Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and John Kerry. They are asking for a $100 million ransom. Otherwise, they are going to douse them with gasoline and set them on fire. We are going from car to car, taking up a collection."

As a Colts fan it sucks to see the NFL announce that there was a blown call which then gives people the opportunity to poopoo the fact that the Colts won this game. But to be fair, I think the officiating so far in the playoffs this season have been much better then last season by far. In every single game someone can point to specific plays that either should have been called for penalty or vice versa.

It comes down to it being the breaks of the game, and as some have already stated, if the Pats had executed better in a few other situations, then that specific play is a somewhat non-factor. If you ask me, it was the karmic boomerang coming back around for all the times the Pats defenders have mugged Colts recievers in past playoff games. Take it as you will. :-)

H,If my roomate's pay me even a portion of the money they owe me then yes. I may be a little late, I have to go to my friend's Uncle's birthday.

I know you all have your eyebrows raised at that. My friend's Uncle, my friend and I are all either in the military (My friend) or like his Uncle and I members of the VFW(Veterans of Foriegn Wars) and when they have a party at the VFW, all vets and servicemen get free booze...can't turn down that invite.

Time management is issue in the NFL I don't understand. Mainly because it should not be an issue.

I know alot of you guys get on Simmons case because he looks at all his teams through Rose colored or in the Celts case Emerald colored glasses. Occasionally however, a good idea does escape his mellon.

The coaching V.P. of Common Sense is one such idea. For three reasons that immeadiately come to mind;

First: How many times has your coach done something so stupid, like Daddy Rosee just pointed out, that you wish you could smack him and say "NO, THAT IS A STUPID IDEA!" then calmly explain why and not make the bonehead move that results in your team loosing.

Second: How great a job would that be, hang around the team, get paid, go to all the games, and just because you have common sense

Thrid: Wouldn't be histerical to have seen Rivers an LdT run out on to the field for that 4th and 11, only to see Schotenheimer get cobwebs smacked out of his head by their V.P. and then watch a confused Rivers and LdT come back off the field.

Poor Marty, they would've done the right thing and Keading would most likely have missed. This guy just can't win.

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DanShanoff.com is a sports-blog spin-off of my long-time ESPN.com column, "The Daily Quickie." Anchored by an early-morning post of must-know topics, the blog is updated frequently throughout the day with new posts and user comments.